Installing a Bug Proof Cap for a Private Well

I have a private water well which my landscaper ran over recently, splitting the cast aluminum well cap in two. Ouch. If it broke the well cap, imagine what it did to the blades on his riding mower! For such a small job, I was having a really hard time to get one of the local well companies to come out and fix it. I finally got one guy to at least return my call. He asked me to text a picture so he could determine the prognosis. After a little back and forth, he said I needed a 'bug proof well cap' and given his schedule, he recommended I just pick it up from his shop and install it myself.

Step 1: Disconnect the Power

I started off by cutting the power to the well. Then I removed the temporary cover I worked so hard to make. Next after pulling the wiring out of the well pipe, I disconnected the wiring from the house that fed the power to the well.

Step 2: Remove the Old Conduit

Not sure why, but I was instructed to remove the old pipe that held the wiring that came from the house and came up through the ground. The pipe was about two feet and length and I used a narrow trowel to dig it out. Once free from the ground, I then replaced it with roughly the same length of PVC.

Step 3: Install Base Flange

The 'bug proof cap' is made up of two parts, the cap itself as well as the base flange that sits on top of the well pipe. To fit the flange over the well pipe, I had to loosen the nuts slightly, then slipped it over the well pipe. Using a ratchet and socket, I tightened the base flange down tight to the well pipe. Notice the new PVC covering the wiring in the above picture.

Step 4: Clean the End of Your Wires

The ends of my wires had become a bit oxidized so I used a little sand paper to clean them off.

Step 5: Reconnect the Hot and Cold Wires

Using the appropriate wire nuts, reconnect your hot and cold wires from the house feed to the well wires.

Step 6: Connect the Ground Wire

Connect the ground wire to the well cap itself.

Step 7: Connect the Top to the Base Flange

Using the appropriate socket, tighten down the top of the cap to the base flange.

Step 8: Test It Out

I then reconnected the power and turned on the water only to find the pump didn't turn on. Turned the power back off, removed the well cap and inspected my wires. I found a bad connection on one and redid it. Without replacing the well cap this time I turned the power back on and tested again. This time it worked. Reconnected the cap to the base flange and was back in business.

As you can see from the picture, my well head doesn't stick that far above the ground. I'll probably purchase a fake rock to cover it up so it doesn't happen again.